Top Oakland official leaving for Concord

oakland -- The city is losing its top numbers maven, Assistant City Administrator Scott Johnson, who is taking the same post with the city of Concord.

Johnson also performed the duties of a finance director, and his departure leaves Oakland's already bare bones upper management team even more thinly staffed. The city's treasurer is also its acting Human Resources director.

"Scott's departure is an incredible loss for the city particularly because he was doing two jobs," Councilwoman Libby Schaaf said. She praised Johnson for improving transparency and leaving Oakland in a stronger financial position than when he arrived in 2011.

Johnson, who previously worked as San Jose's finance director, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Oakland City Administrator Deanna Santana, who worked with Johnson in San Jose and helped recruit him to Oakland also could not be reached Wednesday. Johnson's last day in Oakland will be Friday Oct. 11, and his first day in Concord will be the following Monday.

Concord City Manager Valerie Barone said Johnson's financial expertise and overall experience in municipal government made him her top choice for the job.

"He's going to be my right-hand person working with the City Council and making progress on all of the council's goals," she said.

Barone didn't have Johnson's exact salary at her disposal Wednesday. Johnson made a base salary of $216,668 last year in Oakland. Barone's base salary in Concord is $226,344 a year.